Rockaways, New York

Nicole Russell

Women in Pizza Ambassador / Certified

URL: https://www.lastdragonpizza.com/

Pick Up: https://lastdragonpizza.com/pickup.html

Order: on Slice

‘About: Last Dragon Pizza  –Pizza with a kick! is a Limited Service, word-of-mouth, online pizza business, owned and operated by Pizzamaker, Nicole Russell. Inspired by the 80’s cult classic film, “The Last Dragon,” Last Dragon Pizza serves spicy NY Style influenced whole pizza pies and dishes named after memorable scenes of the film.

Often a NYC bucket list for pizza enthusiasts nationwide, Last Dragon Pizza is dedicated to providing its customers the adventure of having a fun, memorable pizza experience. The only way to “FIND THE PIZZA MASTER,” is to visit its website, join the mailing list and place the order online.  Last Dragon Pizza’s weekly pickup location is divulged only after the order is placed. Then, and only then, do you get,  “THE GLOW,” — the ultimate theme of the film.

Nicole Russell started making pizza during Hurricane Sandy. She refined her self-taught pizza skills serving pizza to the construction workers on her block after the storm just to say, “Thank you.” The construction workers soon became customers, and eventually, repeat customers; spreading the word to others in the neighborhood. As the demand for Nicole’s pizza increased, in 2014, Nicole came up with the Last Dragon Pizza concept to officially start selling her pizza from home in The Rockaways. In 2016, Nicole researched and developed Last Dragon Pizza’s frozen pizza product, Little Dragons, and currently ships personal frozen pizza nationwide.

Before Hurricane Sandy, Nicole was a Freelance Multimedia Producer by day and a nightlife promoter for a landmark restaurant in the Meatpacking District by night. She earned a Multi-Media Design Certificate from NYU School of Professional Studies.  Nicole also has a background in Corporate Sales.

When her life seemingly slowed down due to the circumstances surrounding the storm and family life, pizza making pulled Nicole through very difficult times. Once she realized there was a real opportunity to create a new path for herself, Nicole used her knowledge of sales and coupled it with her graphic/web designing skills to produce an e-commerce website and develop a social media marketing strategy for Last Dragon Pizza.

After years of figuring out her unique business model — creating a database of repeat customers and building a solid social media following — in 2017, Nicole used her proof-of-concept evidence to enter and win the top prize in the Queens Economic Development’s 2017 StartUP! Business Plan Grant Competition. Continuing with her winning streak, two months later, Nicole won second place in the NYC Small Business Services Business Pitch Grant Competition and was a finalist in the 1010 WINS Business Pitch Grant Competition.  Nicole used her winnings to formally incorporate Last Dragon Pizza, complete food safety certifications and invest in pizza making equipment to become one of a few woman-owned mobile pizzeria; expanding her stationery business model to a pop-up business model.

Featured in TimeOut NY, The Daily News, The NY Post, and popular pizza enthusiast blog sites such as Scott Pizzas Tours, both Nicole and her business, Last Dragon Pizza, continues to gain popularity and notoriety in a male dominated industry.  In 2019, Nicole was a featured Chef on Season 2 Episode 2 of Amazon Prime’s “Instachef,” produced by Thrillist. Most recently, Last Dragon Pizza was named, “…unofficially the best in show,” by NPR for its infamous, top-selling 7TH Heaven – Tandoori Chicken Masala pizza slice at the New York Pizza Festival.

Nicole is committed to her pizza life and the success of her business. Currently, Last Dragon Pizza is the only black-owned pizza business certified by Minority Owned Business Enterprise (M/WBE) and NYC Department of Education in NY. Personally, Nicole is determined to become a certified Master Pizzaiola. She will start competing internationally in 2020; with the hopes of when asked, “WHO’S THE MASTER,” just like in the climatic scene in the film, “The Last Dragon,” she can confidently answer, “I AM!”

Both Nicole as a Chef and Last Dragon Pizza, respectively, are available for hire for on-site pizza making demonstrations and indoor/outdoor private and corporate catering services worldwide.

For more information, visit: http://www.lastdragonpizza.com or contact Nicole directly at: Info@lastdragonpizza.com